User blog:SArchangel/New Byzantine Empire
:This nation has yet to be confirmed as a part of Altverse. ) ri shenjtë Perandoria Romake ( ) Новият Свещената Римска империя ( ) нови Светог римског царства ( ) |image_flag = ByzEmp Flag.png |alt_flag = |image_flag2 = |alt_flag2 = |image_coat = ByzEmp Coat.png |alt_coat = |symbol_type = Coat of Arms |national_motto = |national_anthem = |royal_anthem = |other_symbol_type = |other_symbol = |image_map = New Byzantine Empire Map.png |alt_map = |map_caption = Constituent countries and dependencies in red: includes constituent countries Greater Greece, Albania, the Slavic Union, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, as well as dependencies Greek Cyrenaica, and Alexandria. |image_map2 = |alt_map2 = |map_caption = |capital = Constantinople |latd= 41 | latm= 0 | latNS= N |longd= 28 |longm= 58 |longEW= E |largest_city = Constantinople |official_languages = , , |membership = |membership_type = Constituent entities |demonym = Byzantine |regional_languages = , , , , , , , , |ethnic_groups = |ethnic_groups_year = |government_type = - hybrid |leader_title1 = Basileus |leader_name1 = Ivan II |leader_title2 = Imperial Minister |leader_name2 = Loukas Papadopoulos |legislature = Imperial Senate |upper_house = |lower_house = |sovereignty_type = Establishment |sovereignty_note = |established_event1 = Byzantium Easter |established_date1 = 10 April 1936 |established_event2 = Incorporation of Alexandria |established_date2 = 19 August, 1940 |established_event3 = Incorporation of Cyprus |established_date3 = 16 October, 1943 |established_event4 = Incorporation of the Kingdom of Romania |established_date4 = 26 February, 1945 |area = |area_km2 = 1103406 |area_sq_mi = 426027.5 |area_footnote = |percent_water = |area_label = |area_label2 = |area_data2 = |population_estimate = 139,753,021 |population_estimate_rank = |population_estimate_year = 2016 |population_census = 139,500,000 |population_census_year = 2013 |population_density_km2 = 126.42 |population_density_sq_mi = 327.44 |population_density_rank = |GDP_PPP = $5,595,643,125,820 |GDP_PPP_rank = |GDP_PPP_year = 2014 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $40,040 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = |GDP_nominal = $4,783,749,340,000 |GDP_nominal_rank = |GDP_nominal_year = 2014 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $34,230 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = |Gini = 36.6 |Gini_ref = |Gini_rank = |Gini_year = 2014 |HDI = 0.888 |HDI_ref = |HDI_rank = |HDI_year = 2014 |currency = Bezant (฿) |currency_code = BBz |time_zone = |utc_offset = +1 to +2 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = +2 to +3 |DST_note = |date_format = |drives_on = right (excluding Cyprus) |cctld = .bz |iso3166code = BZ |official_website = www.nhbempire.gov.bz |calling_code = +30 |vehicle_reg = |aircraft_code = SX |patron_saint = The Virgin Mary (as ) |footnote_a = |footnote_b = |footnote_h = |footnotes = }}The Holy Empire, officially known as the New Holy Byzantine Empire ( : Νέα Αγίας Ρωμαϊκής Αυτοκρατορίας, Néa Agías Romaïkís Aftokratorías), is a including 6 located in , one capital district of Constantinople, a total of 1,439 islands, and two . It is a - hybrid and the world’s only sovereign Christian (partial) theocracy with as the . However this form of rule does not extend to the Holy Empire’s dependencies, Alexandria and Greek Cyrenaica, where only and are permitted without sanctions. The Holy Empire is bordered by seven nations, two of which, Egypt and Libya, each border one of the country’s two dependencies, Greek Cyrenaica (Libya) and Alexandria (Egypt). The other five border nations are Slovenia, , , and Moldavia to the north, and Turkey to the east. The is to the east, and the is to the south; the Holy Empire also maintains full control over the and the . The Holy Empire controls the Byzantine Straits, which demarcate the boundary between and , as well as separate and . The location of the Holy Empire at the crossroads of Europe and Asia make it a country of geostrategic importance. Making up the empire are six federally united constituent countries and one capital district: Greater Greece, Albania, the Slavic Union, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, with the capital district located in Constantinople. Like the original, theocratic Byzantine Empire, the New Holy Byzantine Empire is officially ruled by through the Basileus (emperor); however, the Basileus of the Holy Empire must observe the 1936 Convenant of Constantinople, which is considered a God-through-church-ordained imperial constitution. The Covenant establishes a three-branch system of imperial central government, each branch keeping the other two in check and overall maintaining a balance of power. The executive branch is headed by the Basileus, who is professionally represented by the Imperial Minister, as well as his Imperial Administration (Cabinet). The official legislature is the Imperial Senate, which is made up of senators elected by the legislative Representatives’ Councils in each constituent country as well as a hosting Premier who is selected by and reports directly to the Basileus/Prime Minister. The judicial branch consisting of the imperial court system is operated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the state church and head of autocephalous East Orthodox churches all over the world. The Patriarchate has held much judicial influence since 1930s, in which all establishments of law in the Holy Empire including public law schools have been operated by the Patriarchate. History 'Prehistory' The majority of land in the Holy Empire lies over the , the first area in to experience the arrival of civilization during the period. The Balkans have been inhabited since the and are the route by which farming from the spread to Europe during the Neolithic (7th millennium BC). The practices of growing grain and raising livestock arrived in the Balkans from the by way of and spread west and north into and Central Europe. Two early culture-complexes have developed in the region, and . The Balkans are also the location of the first advanced civilizations. Vinča culture developed a form of before the and , known as the , while the bulk of the symbols had been created in the period between 4500 and 4000 BC, with the ones on the Tărtăria clay tablets even dating back to around 5300 BC. The identity of the Balkans is dominated by its geographical position; historically the area was known as a crossroads of cultures. It has been a juncture between the and bodies of the , the destination of a massive influx of pagan and , an area where and met, as well as the meeting point between and . In pre-classical and , this region was home to , , , , , and other ancient groups. The incorporated parts of the Balkans comprising Macedonia, Thrace, Bulgaria, and the coastal region of Romania between the late 6th and the first half of the 5th-century BC into its territories. Later the Roman Empire conquered most of the region and spread Roman culture and the Latin language, but significant parts still remained under influence. The Romans considered the to be the northern limit of the Peninsula of Haemus and the same limit applied approximately to the border between Greek and Latin use in the region (later called the ). The Bulgars and Slavs arrived in the 6th-century and began assimilating and displacing already-assimilated (through Romanization and Hellenization) older inhabitants of the northern and central Balkans, forming the . During the , the Balkans became the stage for a series of wars between the and the Bulgarian Empires. These conflicts were concurrent to the and the , which saw the decline of the Byzantine Empire. 'Early modern period' Since its beginning, (beginning at the saw the downfall of Christian Balkan nations to the conquests of the . Much of the Balkans fell under Ottoman rule, which lasted from the 14th century up to the 20th. Despite its identification as an Islamic polity, the Ottoman Empire was religiously, linguistically and ethnically diverse, and a much more tolerant place for multiple religious practices when compared to other parts of the world at the time. The different groups in the empire were organised along confessional lines called the system. Among the Orthodox Christians of the empire a common identity was forged based on a shared sense of time defined by the ecclesiastical calendar, saint’s days and feasts. The social structure of the Balkans in the late eighteenth century was complex. The Ottoman rulers exercised control chiefly in indirect ways. In Albania and Montenegro, for example, local leaders paid nominal tribute to the Empire and otherwise had little contact. Dubrovnik (Ragusa) paid an annual tribute to Ottoman Constantinople but otherwise was free to pursue its rivalry with . The two principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia had their own nobility, but were ruled by Greek families chosen by the . In , the elite comprised clergyman and scholars, but there was scarcely any Greek . A million or more Turks had settled in the Balkans, typically in smaller urban centers where they were garrison troops, civil servants, and craftsmen and merchants. There were also important communities of and Greek merchants. The Turks and Jews were not to be found in the countryside, so there was a very sharp social differentiation between the cities and their surrounding region in terms of language, religion and ethnicity. The Ottoman Empire collected taxes at about the 10% rate but there was no forced labor and the workers and peasants were not especially oppressed by the Empire. The Sultan favoured and protected the , primarily as a protection against the missionary zeal of . 'Rise of nationalism' 'Serbian Revolution' The rise of nationalism among ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities highlighted Balkan history in the late modern period. Prior to the first uprisings in the Balkans, Ottoman participation in the and led to the mobilization and use of military forces consisting of Balkan regulars. Expansion of Napoleon’s to the provided a gateway for Western modernist ideas to enter the Balkans. The Serbs were the first to react in nationalist fervor to Ottoman rule; since the in the late 18th century, many Serb revolutionaries had been trained in the Habsburg armies and thus were a formidable force of violent rebellion. In a series of three uprisings, Serbia was able to gain autonomy in 1815 as the , the first in the Balkans to do so. 'Greek War of Independence' Since the Fall of Constantinople, Greeks have held on to the concept of liberation. The implementation of the millet system in the Ottoman Empire allowed the of Ottoman Greece and its expression of the . The grand influence of mercantilism made Ottoman Greece a rich state; maritime trade was the source of funding for schools and parishes. The dominance of the Greek Orthodox Church played a pivotal role in the preservation of Greek national identity. A secret society known as the was founded in 1814, with the aim of liberating Greece from Ottoman rule. The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolts in the Peloponnese, the , and in Constantinople and its surrounding areas. The first of these revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities, but was soon put down by the Ottomans; nonetheless it marked the start of the . The events in the north urged the Greeks in the Peloponnese into action and on 17 March 1821, the Maniots declared war on the Ottomans. This declaration was the start of a spring of revolutionary actions from other controlled states against the Ottoman Empire. Because of the Greek origin of Western classical heritage, there was tremendous sympathy for the Greek cause throughout Europe. Many wealthy Americans and Western European aristocrats, such as the renowned poet and later the physician , took up arms to join the Greek revolutionaries; this movement is known as . The war ended with Greek victory and independence, with the establishment of the as a provisional state to the later Kingdom of Greece. The domino effect of Greek independence was the in the late-1860s. The event sparked the concept of Greek irredentism, which would be formulated into the by 1840s Greek Prime Minister prior to the promulgation of the , and later evolve into the Neo-Byzantine movement. 'Bulgarian Uprisings and Russian intervention' In 1876, the Bulgarian led to the reestablishment of an autonomous Bulgarian state from the Ottoman Empire. The insurrection was a direct result , which included the re-establishment of the in 1870. An uprising against Ottoman rule began in Herzegovina in July 1875. By August almost all of Herzegovina had been seized and the revolt had spread into Bosnia. Supported by nationalist volunteers from Serbia and Montenegro (independence gained in 1852), the uprising continued as the Ottomans committed more and more troops to suppress it. With killings numbering up to as high as 100,000 as estimated by historians, these revolts triggered an international reaction, particularly in . From autumn 1875, the movement to support the Bulgarian uprising involved all classes of Russian society. This was accompanied by sharp public discussions about Russian goals in this conflict: , led by , saw in the impending war the chance to unite all Orthodox nations under Russia’s helm, thus fulfilling what they believed was the historic mission of Russia, while their opponents, , led by , denied the importance of religion and believed that Russian goals should not be defense of Orthodoxy but liberation of Bulgaria. Russia declared war on the Ottomans on 24 April 1877 and its troops entered Romania through the newly built near Ungheni, on the Prut river; this was the official start of the of 1877. Romania was the first to ally with Russia as its troops swept into the Balkans, followed by Serbia and Montenegro. In the aftermath of Russian victory, the Bulgarian state was reestablished while official independence was given to Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. The Russian Empire also made territorial gains in the and . 'Congress of Berlin' The (13 June - 13 July 1878) was a meeting of the leading statesmen of Europe’s Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire. In the wake of the Russia’s smashing victory in a war with Turkey, 1877–78, the urgent need was to stabilize and reorganize the Balkans, and set up new nations. Chancellor , who led the Congress, undertook to adjust boundaries to minimize the risks of major war, while recognizing the reduced power of the Ottoman Empire, and balance the distinct interests of the great powers. As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe declined sharply; Bulgaria was established as an independent principality inside the Ottoman Empire, but was not allowed to keep all its previous territory. Bulgaria, without being admitted to the Congress, lost more than 70% of its territory, and over 50% of its ethnic population remained outside its borders—which caused a number of uprisings and brought the country into the subsequent Balkan War. Bulgaria lost Eastern Rumelia, which was restored to the Turks under a special administration. Macedonia and Thrace were returned outright to the Turks, who promised reform and Northern Dobrudja became part of Romania, which achieved full independence but had to turn over part of to Russia. Serbia and Montenegro finally gained complete independence, but with smaller territories. took over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and effectively took control of the , although Bosnia would remain a semi-autonomous protectorate until 1908. took over Cyprus. The results were at first hailed as a great achievement in peacemaking and stabilization. However, most of the participants were not fully satisfied, and grievances regarding the results festered until they exploded in world war in 1914. Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece made gains, but far less than they thought they deserved. The Ottoman Empire, called at the time the "sick man of Europe," was humiliated and significantly weakened, rendering it more liable to domestic unrest and more vulnerable to attack. Although Russia had been victorious in the war that caused the conference, it was humiliated at Berlin, and resented its treatment. Austria gained a great deal of territory, which angered the South Slavs, and led to decades of tensions in Bosnia and Herzogovina. Bismarck became the target of hatred of Russian nationalists and Pan-Slavists, and found that he had tied Germany too closely to Austria in the Balkans. In the long-run, tensions between Russia and Austria-Hungary intensified, as did the nationality question in the Balkans. The congress was aimed at the revision of the and at keeping Constantinople in Ottoman hands. It effectively disavowed Russia's victory over the decaying Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. The Congress of Berlin returned to the Ottoman Empire territories that the previous treaty had given to the Principality of Bulgaria, most notably Macedonia, thus setting up a strong revanchist demand in Bulgaria that in 1912 was one of many causes of the First Balkan War. 'Balkan War' Both territorial conflicts following the Congress of Berlin and the decline of the Ottoman Empire with the cultivated into creation of the Balkan Coalition among member states of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro in 1912. The purpose of the Coalition was to regain Ottoman-controlled territories in the Balkans and replace the Congress of Berlin agreement with new territorial charters for each country. The charter included the restoration of Montenegrin territories bordering Serbia, division of Northern Macedonia between Bulgaria and Serbia, the return of East Rumelia to Bulgaria as well as its control over Western Thrace, and Greece’s claim over Southern Macedonia. Hoping to gain Western support, Greece was also keen on the liberation of Albania. Events leading up to the establishment of the Coalition included the declaration of of Ottoman Crete to Greece by Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos, who took advantage of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution to do so. The fact that the Greek government, led by , proved unable to likewise take advantage of the situation and bring Crete into the fold, rankled many Greeks, especially young military officers. These formed a secret society, the “ ”, with the purpose of emulating their Ottoman colleagues to seek governmental reforms. The resulting on 15 August 1909 marked a watershed in modern Greek history: as the military conspirators were inexperienced in politics, they asked Venizelos, who had impeccable liberal credentials, to come to Greece as their political advisor. Venizelos quickly established himself as a powerful political figure with his expression of the irredentist Megali Idea, and his Liberal Party won the August 1910 elections under his promise to help Greece reclaim its former territories. Venizelos became Prime Minister in October 1910, ushering a period of 31 years of his beloved rule including his major role in the establishment of the New Holy Byzantine Empire. The outbreak of the Albanian War of Independence signalled the declaration of war by the Balkan Coalition on the declining Ottoman Empire. While Serbian and Bulgarian forces dominated in the Coalition, Greece’s manpower waned; however, Greece was well supplemented with a large professional military staff, trained by great Western and Russian tacticians, as well as a large weapons supply given to them by the military supply treaty since the unfortunate , which expired by 1905. Leading the Hellenic Army was the beloved Crown Prince Constantine. As both Serbia and Bulgaria took their charter claims and decided to maintain defensive stalemate, the smaller Greek force faced being outnumbered by an overwhelming Turk force in Epirus. Fortunately poor intelligence from the Ottoman side misled Ottoman armies, allowing Greek forces to take Epirus in a series of encirclement campaigns. The most pivotal role in Greece’s gain was the Greek navy. While the Turkish Navy mainly engaged Bulgarians in the Black Sea, the Greek navy scattered themselves among small but considerable island fleets. Despite having a smaller and outgunned fleet as a whole, the Greek navy regulars, many of them sailors for a living and residents of the Greek islands, outcompeted the Turks in skill and knowledge of naval works, and the Greek gunboats proved an huge annoyance to the Turks. As gunboats were cheap and simple to manufacture, maintain, control, and repair, the Greeks ensembled hundreds of them. Concurrently in France, Greek chemical physicist Demetrius Hondros believed he had reinvented the long lost Byzantine incendiary weapon, . Incredibly effective against the outdated wooden warships of the Ottoman fleet, after successful uses in sabotage missions conducted by Greek gunboats, Greek fire became a popular naval weapon. However as primary vessels in the Ottoman fleet were ironclad ships, the Greeks simply developed a variant of a mortar that could land Greek fire onto the decks of enemy ships. The success of the Greek navy prevented the Ottomans from supplying their land forces and the remaining Ottoman forces in the Balkans became isolated as Bulgarian troops invaded Thrace; they were forced to surrender. The Treaty of London ended the Balkan War on 30 May 1913. All Ottoman territory west of the was ceded to the Balkan Coalition The treaty also declared Albania to be an independent state. 'First World War and the Rise of Neo-Byzantinism' 'Greek National Revival' While all Balkan nations celebrated their victories, the results of the Balkan War had its greatest impact on Greece. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos garnered idolatrous popularity as his pre-war promises had been fulfilled in the war. People wanted continued expansion as the Megali idea had not yet become fulfilled, but Venizelos convinced the population that the fulfillment of the idea would require preparation. Venizelos successfully encouraged Greeks to increase their work efforts, but not just for the sake of national ascendancy, but for a holy one. While the intention of it is still debated today, Venizelos is known for having used religion and God as tools to enforce the post-war Greek National Revival, going beyond human cultural and nationalist fervor. As a political idol, Venizelos’ speeches had a significant impact on the shift of power in Greece, where aristocratic families previously dominated. With its expansion from the war, Venizelos had to make land reforms. Rather than delegating land to the experienced governing authorities of Greece’s aristocracy, Venizelos handed land authority to the Greek Orthodox Church. The church attracted many migrants to the land by establishing rural villages complete with schools, parishes, and other services. Venizelos encouraged the Greek people to donate to the church in an effort to establish settlement. These actions would eventually end family hegemony and skilled laborers moved to newer lands to establish self-owned businesses. Naturally, with rather young competition and new conditions that strayed from the Peleponnesian life, residents of this new rural Greece adopted a of economy. With a small population and huge supply of resources, Greeks began to raise larger families. Participation in the Greek Orthodox Church increased as more and more Greeks pursued the family life. As a cult of personality developed around Venizelos, the prime minister of Greece took control over the societal revolution. The Venizelist regime instituted labor reforms in favor of a nationalized, corporatist system, taking away competition in favor of collective bargaining for a common goal. These changes could be described as analogous to the Greek irredentist ardor at the time, shared by nearly all Greeks. The religious nature of the communal incentive of work appealed not only to Greeks but other ethnic groups sharing the same faith. In fact the power of the church was so great that law enforcement began unofficially observing religious law. For his industrial and militarist aims, Venizelos controversially allowed a degree of child labor to be practiced in industry and agriculture, but also maintained a policy of scheduled education. 'Outbreak of War' When World War I broke out as tensions between Serbia and Austria-Hungary over control in Bosnia led to the , the Venizelist regime seceded from the Balkan Coalition and declared the neutrality of Greece. Venizelos saw the war as an opportunity for Greece to increase its infrastructure, economy, and military, so that the nation could catch up to the standards of other European nations. While other nations in Europe spent fortunes on a ruinous war, Greece used the period to invite Balkan war refugees safety in Greece; as Greece was in need of a larger work force, the war refugee population was very convenient; many of them were willing to work for very low wages. While some refugees remained as civilians in Greece long after the war, many that returned to their war-torn homelands brought with them the Neo-Byzantine ideology; this was crucial to the expansion of the Neo-Byzantine movement in the Balkans. Until 1916, Venizelos made desperate measures to keep Greece out of the war. His militarization plan focused heavily on the foundation of a modernized Greek navy, which would help keep away either Ottoman or French-Italian aggression during the war. By the war’s end, Greece had the second largest navy in the Mediterranean. As for the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, there was no worry, as like any European leader at the time, the imperial monarchs of both nations naïvely respected the authority of the aged King George I of Greece and the rest of the Hellenic Royal Family. In 28 July 1918, the Venizelist regime finally declared war on the Central Powers, launching an invasion of Bulgarian Thrace and opening a new Middle Eastern front, throwing off both Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. It is notable that Venizelos declared war yet did not ally with the Allied coalition forces. Bulgarian armies quickly surrendered to Greece and declared formal armistice to the Allied powers. The Ottoman Army was caught by surprise; spread thin on the Southern Front, they were unable to make a sound decision and the Istanbul militias were easily overrun by the Hellenic Army in Eastern Thrace. The powerful Hellenic Navy took control of the and occupied Constantinople and the Byzantine Straits (then known as the Turkish Straits), followed by the occupation of the Dodecanese Islands, all by October 30. Venizelos formally joined the Allies the following day. As a result, the Ottoman Empire surrendered to Greece and made a formal armistice with the Allies on November 2. Nine days later, World War I officially ended, making Greece the most powerful nation in the Balkans. By its end, Greece had annexed Northern Macedonia, all of Thrace, and the Byzantine Straits, particularly Constantinople. Venizelos saw that these concessions were permanent, and he formally renamed the country the Greater Kingdom of Greece. The concessions also added several hundred thousand Ottoman Greeks to the population. 'Aftermath of World War I and the Greco-Turkish War' The Greek dominion over the Christian holy city of Constantinople contributed to its post-war gains in the Orthodox realm in early 1919. Following Ottoman armistice, Venizelos opened Greece’s doors to thousands of White Russian émigrés situated in Crimea; this was successful through the collaboration of the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. By 1920, when the victory seemed inevitable, about 1.8 million White émigrés including a large portion of the remaining had already emigrated to Greater Greece. Throughout the rest of Balkan and later Holy Empire history, the White Russian community continues to be the largest minority group in the Balkans, making up about a sixth of the population in Greater Greece. At the time the addition of former Imperial Russian staff of war and the warships of were of a significant surplus to the Greek military power as well. An Allied military occupation of Smyrna of the Ottoman Empire was conducted early in 1919, in hopes of formally opening up negotiations for a formal peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire. However the talks were stalled as the Ottoman Sultan fought with Turkish revolutionaries at its new capital in Ankara, where the was growing, soon to be led by , who would attempt to overthrow the sultanate from the summer of 1919. Mehmed VI was able to arrive in Smyrna, but late in August, where the Allies forced him to sign the , which would partition the Ottoman Empire among Allied mandates, leaving only Turkey to the sultanate. However by the time this was conducted, the Ottoman Empire had already fallen, and the had already established the Ankara provisional republic headed by Atatürk. Atatürk refused to meet the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres. As a result, Greece, Britain, France, and Italy declared war on the Ankara government. Unable to stop the overwhelming enemy advance, the Ankara provisional republic surrendered after losing the Battle of Sakarya River). As the war came to the end, Venizelos seized post-war responsibilities normally delegated to Britain or France. As a result, Venizelos had all land seized in the war annexed by Greater Greece, such that the Megali idea was fulfilled. Not wanting to start another major conflict, the West tolerated Venizelos’ action. To this day, the legitimacy of this concession is still debated with the Republic of Turkey. With the new concession, the Greeks and Turks organized a population exchange, which made 2.1 million Eastern Orthodox citizens of Turkey, most of them of full-to-partial Greek nationality, into people of the kingdom; in exchange, around three to five million displaced Turks and other peoples of the Islamic religion were forced to leave to Turkey. The fall of Austria-Hungary by the end of the First World War had made the climax of Slavic nationalism. Serbs, Bosniaks, Croates, and Slovenes joined to form the after the lobbied the Allies for the decision in 1918. The creation of the state was largely supported by and Serbian nationalists. For the pan-Slavic movement, all of the South Slav (Yugoslav) people had united into a single state. For Serbian nationalists, the desired goal of uniting the majority of the Serb population across south-eastern Europe into one state was also achieved. Furthermore, as Serbia already had a government, military, and police force, it was the logical choice to form the nucleus of the Yugoslav state. The newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes participated in the with politician as the country’s representative. Since the Allies had lured the Italians into the war with a promise of substantial territorial gains in exchange, which cut off a quarter of Slovene ethnic territory from the remaining three quarters of living in the Kingdom of SHS, Trumbić successfully vouched for the inclusion of most Slavs living in the former Austria-Hungary to be included within the borders of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, nevertheless with the a population of half a million Slavs, mostly Slovenes, were subjected to forced until the fall of Fascism in Italy. At the time when was willing to modify the Rapallo borders in order to annex the independent state of to Italy, Serbian Prime Minister attempts to correct the borders at and were effectively undermined by the regent Alexander who preferred “good relations” with Italy. 'Roaring Twenties' Greece’s economy practically tripled in size as it worked on the conditions of its newly conquered lands. Much of the contribution came from Greek control over the Byzantine Straits, and Venizelos held a monopoly over Western trade with the central Middle East. In Greek territory west of the Sakarya River, the formerly Turkish chromite industry was taken over by Venizelos. Greater Greece also became the second largest exporter of food products in Europe, next to the newly founded Soviet Union. Although the neighboring was considered the first truly regime under , the Venizelist regime had already operated on several fascist principles, including a semi-national syndicalism of the economy and increased militarization. During this time, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople took on the major role of providing most of the social services in Greater Greece. It was during this time that the church controlled much of the education system, law enforcement, healthcare, and other neccesities. Every week, the church recieved a tithe of 10% from every citizen’s weekly income; again, 10% of the government expenditure was given to the church. As the Church’s power grew, organized religion became a serious part of Greek life; people were known to place much judgment on qualification of clergy and parish service. In 1923, official leaders of the Neo-Byzantine movement were absorbed into Venizelos’ Liberal Party, which he renamed the Neo-Byzantine Party. Venizelos formally dedicated himself to the establishment of a co-prosperity order in the Orthodox world. Venizelos ordered state-regulated printing of Neo-Byzantine propaganda, largely compiled into pamphlet essays about the Neo-Byzantinism, which were widely distributed to the Balkans, primarily in copies of the Bible. During this time, many citizens of Greater Greece would refer to themselves with the demonym of “Byzantine,” which would include Orthodox Christian Russians, Turks, and other minorities. In Constantinople, Archbishop Constantine VI oversaw the renovation of the , which had been converted to a during the Ottoman era. By 1931, the renovated Hagia Sophia would beat as the largest church in the world. In 1929, the Italian de-facto protectorate known as the in Albania fell under the monarchical rule of . Albania was declared a monarchy by the Constituent Assembly, and President Ahmet Bej Zogu, who convinced the Albanian parliament to dissolve and give him rule as king. Up to World War II, King Zog was kept in power by Mussolini as he supported the interests of Fascist Italy in the Balkans. In Yugoslavia, the monarchy accumulated an overbearing amount of debt borrowing money from international banks. This would have a devastating impact on the nation upon the arrival of the . During World War I, Greek irredentism evolved into an even greater nationalist and also religious movement known as the Neo-Byzantine movement, which called for the Orthodox revival of the Byzantine Empire which was essentially the idea of developing sociopolitical-economic unity and co-prosperity among Balkan nations. The religious nature of the Neo-Byzantine movement allowed it to quickly spread to other nations in the Orthodox World. During World War I, smart use of neutrality by the Venizelist regime allowed Greece to rise where warring nations fell. A militarized Greece entered the war at last-minute in order to seize Western Thrace from Bulgaria and then go on to take over the holy crown city of Constantinople and the Turkish Straits which were the pillars of the Orthodox World and Eurasian Trade respectively. Ater the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire following WWI, the newly formed provisional Republic of Turkey rejected post-war terms, and thus fell to an invasion by Greek forces, supported by the French, British, and Italians. When peace negotiations were finally underway, the Marmara, Lycian, and Aegean regions of Turkey became part of a “Greater Greece” while other conquered lands were forcibly returned to Turkey by the League of Nations. During the Roaring Twenties, Greece became a continental military and economic power essential to the development of infastructure all over Europe; the nation had gained controlled of Turkey’s chromite deposits in its conquest. The Great Depression saw the expansion of the Neo-Byzantine movement to struggling Balkan nations. In 1930, the Hellenic Royal Army quelled a civil war between the Serbian dictatorial hegemony and other Slavic groups in Yugoslavia. The Venizelist regime split Yugoslavia between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Slavic Union, in which established a puppet control in Serbia while crowning a Greek monarch over the Slavic Union, all of which were actions generally tolerated by the South Slavic population which held positive views of Neo-Byzantinism. In 1931, the Greek government aided Neo-Byzantines in the overthrowing of a newly formed, Soviet-inspired ultra-leftist regime in Bulgaria, thus spreading its sphere of influence into Bulgaria. On Good Friday of 1936, Prime Minister Venizelos brought the Neo-Byzantine movement to reality in an event known as Byzantium Easter, which saw the founding of the New Holy Byzantine Empire, with Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and the Slavic Union as constituent countries. The East Orthodox Church became a political power and crowned King George I’s son, Constantine I, as the Emperor/Basileus of the Holy Empire. During the outbreak of World War II, the Holy Empire declared neutrality and held a degree of support for Nazi Germany, whose leader, Chancellor Adolf Hitler befriended Imperial Minister Venizelos during the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. To end the rivalry, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Imperial Minister Venizelos established a military alliance known as the New Roman Alliance in the autumn of 1940, such that in exchange for Imperial Byzantine control over the Egyptian city of Alexandria, the Holy Empire would aid Italy in the North African campaign. In 1941, Venizelos died of stroke at a hotel in Constantinople, and the Imperial Parliament appointed Andreas Michalakopoulos as his successor. Unlike Venizelos, Michalakopoulos distrusted the Axis Powers. In Romania, Michalakopoulos supported Neo-Byzantines in a political conflict with the Iron Guard regime led by infamous Ion Antonescu who had supported the Nazis. When Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, violating the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, Michalakopoulos lost his trust in the Axis Powers. During the Western Desert Campaign, Michalakopoulos held a secret meeting with British Field Marshal Archibald Wavell in Nicosia, Cyprus, where they established a military alliance in exchange for the enosis of British-held Cyprus. During Operation Torch, the Imperial Byzantine Navy, which was the third largest navy in the world at the time, devastated the Italian Navy and Italian airfields, allowing British forces to take control of Egypt and quickly allowing Allied forces to take control of North Africa. The Holy Empire allowed a swift invasion of Italy coinciding with the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. As Soviet forces pushed the Nazis out of Russia in 1943, the Holy Empire proceeded to invade Romania with the aid of Romanian King Michael I and the Romanian Neo-Byzantines, and overthrew dictator Ion Antonescu. In 1944, Romania became a constituent nation of the Holy Empire. However, Moldavia fell under Soviet control. When World War II ended, the Holy Empire became a world power. One of the primary post-war issues the Holy Empire faced was its annexation of land in the Jebel Akhdar plateau and the present city of Benghazi, known to the Byzantines as Hesperides, where the Patriarchate of Alexandria planned to build a church and a unified Christian community. Meanwhile the New Holy Byzantine Armed Forces had its own plans to construct a military base in the area. Despite disagreements, the British and French were not eager to start another war over the settlement, and Greek Cyrenaica became a dependency of the Holy Empire in 1946. In 1948 during the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War, the Holy Empire supported Israel and sent voluntary forces to evacuate the Orthodox Christian communities in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The Arab League misinterpreted this as a threat of war. As a result, the Arab League declared war on the Holy Empire and Egyptian forces attempted to seize the Alexandria dependency in the Battle of Alexandria. Egyptian forces surprised the Byzantine Army which struggled to stall and defend the city against a larger force. The Egyptian Air Force destroyed the Patriarchate cathedral, which to this day is a symbol of anti-Arab sentiment in the Holy Empire. In retaliation, the Byzantine Army reinforced Category:Blog posts